Archaeologists discover dolmens at Shankarpur

PUNE: Archaeologists of the Deccan college post-graduate and research institute have found four dolmens of the Megalithic Age (Third century B C) or the Iron Age at the Shankarpur village near Chandrapur, about 150 km from Nagpur. The discovery holds importance as such burial methods are rare in the state and also because one of the dolmens is being claimed to be the largest in the state and India. Dolmen is an ancient stone structure consisting of a large flat stone on top of two or more upright ones, built above the place where humans were buried. These were usually erected in the memory of the dead. In India, such structures are mainly found in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala. Kanti Pawar led the excavation for Deccan College. He was assisted by students Kim Yong Jun, Akash Srinivas and Pankaj Kahalekar. Pawar told TOI, "In the Vidarbha region, the common burial type is stone circles, found abundantly in the Nagpur and Bhandara regions. Dolmens are a very rare burial type in Maharashtra. Most excavations by various institutions in the country have found stone circles burial types of the Megalithic Age." The excavation began in December last and the dolmens were excavated in March.

Of the four excavated dolmens, only one is in good condition. The other three have fallen to ruins due to natural and human disturbances. The intact one is being claimed by the team to be the largest in the state and India. Tthe Deccan College team also found some utensils, four punch-marked coins, remains of human bones, copper and glass bangles, iron objects and also burnt bricks. "It is interesting to find remnants of the Megalithic Age here," Pawar said, adding: "Burnt bricks are a unique finding. So far, not a single excavation of Megalithic burials have had burnt bricks."